Build Me Up, Tear Me Down
by Skabooom
Summary: When a picture of Jeremy kissing another boy gets sent around the school, the bullies attack him mercilessly. However, an unexpected knight in shining armor comes to his rescue. Tyler/Jeremy, Jyler, oneshot.


_**A/N Another Jeremy/Tyler oneshot based off of a prompt from my Hurt/Comfort bingo challenge on livejournal! I hope you like it!**_

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><p>"Faggot." Scott Lucas pushed Jeremy into a locker as he passed him in the hallway.<p>

"Asshole," Jeremy muttered under his breath, resituating his backpack on his shoulders and heading back down the hallway. He was used to being shoved around, but usually nothing was said other than loser. Faggot. That was a new one.

"Fairy." Less than a minute later, another boy shoved Jeremy, this time causing him to trip and fall, his books flying everywhere.

"Fuck." Jeremy rolled his eyes, picking up his books, frowning when he couldn't find his biology book.

"Hey cocksucker, looking for this?" Randall Harris held up his science book.

"Okay, give that to me." Jeremy got to his feet, reaching for the book, but Randall raised it, holding it out of Jeremy's reach. "Seriously, Harris, this isn't funny, just give me the book, okay?"

"I don't know." Randall shrugged. "I'm not sure we should let boys like you walk our halls and take our classes, you might contaminate someone."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jeremy sighed.

"You being gay, duh." Randall rolled his eyes. "And don't try to pretend that you aren't. I saw the picture."

"What?" Jeremy frowned. "What picture?"

"Ha, don't tell me you didn't see it…" Randall held the book up with one hand, opening his phone with another, showing a picture of Jeremy kissing a boy whose face was blurred out by the shot. "This got texted to everyone in school."

"Oh…" Jeremy gulped. "And…the other boy in the picture?"

"No one knows." Randall shook his head. "Care to tell us?"

"His name's Alan, he doesn't go here." Jeremy made another grab for the book, this time succeeding.

"Have a nice day, miss thing!" Randall called after him. The hallway filled with laughter, and as Jeremy tried to walk to class, he found himself heckled and teased, unkind words being thrown at him from every direction. His cheeks began to flush with embarrassment, and he felt sick to his stomach. This was his secret, his private life, and no one was supposed to know about it! No one but him and his boyfriend. He had no idea who had gotten the picture of them, but he really didn't care.

Jeremy's whole day went roughly the same as his entrance, and by lunchtime, the bullying and humiliation was getting so bad that Jeremy debated not going to the cafeteria, but he didn't want to give them the satisfaction. He got a plate of food and sat down at his usual spot, managing to take a few bites before he felt something hit the back of his head. He turned around and saw a chicken nugget lying on the ground.

"Very funny," Jeremy stated.

"It was, wasn't it?" Some kid shouted.

"Assholes, all of them," Jeremy said to himself, turning back to his food. He raised another bite to his lips before a wad of mashed potations hit in square in the face. He closed his eyes, wiping it off, trying to pretend that everything was fine.

"Hey, faggot!" Some kid walking by sneered at him, and faked a trip, throwing their soda onto Jeremy.

"You know what? Enough!" Jeremy stood, too ashamed and embarrassed to stay where he was. He grabbed his backpack and ran for the exit, not stopping until he reached his home and his room. Not too much longer, there was a knock on the door. "Go away," Jeremy hissed.

"No."

"Oh. It's you." Jeremy sighed as the door opened.

"Yeah, it is." The boy walked in, placing a soft kiss on Jeremy's lips. "Are you alright?"

"No, Tyler, I'm not." Jeremy looked up at Tyler Lockwood. "Do I look alright to you?"

"Well, no…" Tyler sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Did you see the picture?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, it was texted to me this morning, I wanted to tell you, but you got to school before I could seek you out." He sighed. "Did…did you-"

"Did I tell anyone it was you?" Jeremy snapped. "I should have known that's why you came, and no, I didn't." He shook his head. "I told them it was some kid named Alan for another school."

"Whoa, Jer, cool down." Tyler put his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "That's not what I was going to ask."

"Oh." Jeremy bit his lip.

"I was going to ask did you want me to stay here with you for the rest of the afternoon or did you want to be alone." Tyler put his arm around Jeremy, kissing the top of his head despite the soda and mashed potatoes that were stuck to his brown hair.

"Stay," Jeremy whispered, burrowing against Tyler. "Please, stay…you're the only person in the whole world who doesn't think I'm a freak."

"Because you're not," Tyler said, starting to rub Jeremy's back.

"It's just…as if it wasn't bad enough, everyone at that school already hates me, now I'm gonna be labeled as the gay kid."

"No, you won't be," Tyler stated, though he was fairly sure what he was saying was far from the truth. Jeremy was already picked on by most of the bullies, and this would make him the most popular punching bag for at least a month.

"Yeah, right," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "But thanks for pretending."

"I wish there was more I could do."

"Yeah, well, there's not."

"Yeah, there is," Tyler said softly. "Tomorrow, I can walk into school, holding your hand. They can beat on you, but they're no match for the both of us."

"What?" Jeremy's eyes widened. "You'd…you'd do that for me?"

"Yes." Tyler nodded. "Jeremy, I love you, and if I can do anything to help you, I want to do it. You've helped me through so much already, this is the least I can do in return."

"Do…do you mean that?" Jeremy asked, his face paling slightly.

"Of course! You've done a lot for me, it's time I helped you," Tyler replied.

"No, I mean…the other part, the um…I love you part."

"Oh." Tyler flushed slightly. "Yeah, I did."

"I love you too, Tyler," Jeremy whispered, leaning up and kissing his boyfriend softly. "And because I love you, I'm not going to let you give up your good standing for me." He squeezed Tyler's hand. "I know that you care about me, I don't need you to show the whole world."

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked, pushing some of Jeremy's food-ridden hair from his face.

"I'm sure." Jeremy nodded. "You have enough on your plate already, what with being a werewolf. School is the one place you can be normal, I'm not going to take that away from you."

"Thank you, Jeremy." Tyler smiled, caressing Jeremy's cheek. "But if you ever change your mind, just let me know, okay?"

"I will." Jeremy nodded, resting his head against Tyler's shoulder. One day it might be nice to come out, but for now, he was content with this as their secret. Just knowing that Tyler loved him enough to risk all of his friendships and popularity was enough for Jeremy.


End file.
